Creating an air of mystery and
romance takes just the right finishing touches to whisk guests away to your theme destination. The key to pulling off a coordinated event: Evoke your theme
throughout the affair, it
should be the subtle thread that ties everything together.
Your location, invitations, flowers, menu, cake, and favors
should all cleverly reflect one common concept. Then, get as
creative as you can!

Set the stage for your
Egyptian Party, right from the start. Feature
authentic architecture and rich metallic detailing
that even Pharaoh couldnt resist.

Invitations Ideas:

Make invitations out of black paper or card stock. Cut gold
triangles out of metallic foil paper & glue onto the front
to look like golden pyramids. Dot glue on the black part of
the card then sprinkle with gold glitter to make stars above
the pyramids. Write party details inside: where, when, what
time. Let guest know that the Wadjet (the snake guardian of
the pharaoh's tomb) will only admit those dressed as ancient
Egyptians.

Use Egyptian photos on your invitations.

Make name tags on the computer. You might pretend to be
expedition teams from various museum groups. Use printed
titles like: Queen Nefertiti Jewel Museum, Snake and Serpent
Research Center, Egyptian Gold Coin Museum, Egyptian Mummy
Museum, Pyramid Geological Research Team, then the person's
name.

Egyptian Motif:

The motif is the visual representation of your theme, which
is created by the use of objects or symbols. If you use an
"Egyptian" theme you may want to incorporate the use of
Uraeus the serpent emblem found in Egyptian portrayals of
Royalty and Deity. The mathematical symbol for infinity. The
Horus, the falcon God of the Egyptians, in his solar aspect.
The Ba-bird, which symbolizes someone's personality (soul)
or the Eye of Ra or Eye of Horus which represents the right
eye of the Egyptian Falcon God Horus, it represented the
sun, and was associated with the Sun God Ra (Re). These
symbols may be repeated on your invitations, program,
plates, or decorations. Sometimes the use of several
different symbols will be used as components of the theme.

Developing your Egyptian Theme:

Develop your motif using a list of words related to the
theme. Brainstorm a list to create your pool of ideas. This
list is very important for generating ideas that can be
applied to all areas of the event. An "Egyptian" theme may
suggest words like:

You'll want to select a color scheme that you will use
throughout the theme. Two or three colors work well. Colors
will make a big impact so be sure they are ones that will
complement your theme.

In ancient Egypt, color was an integral part of the
substance and being of everything in life. The color of
something was a clue to the substance or heart of the
matter. When it was said that one could not know the color
of the gods, it meant that they themselves were unknowable,
and could never be completely understood. In art, colors
were clues to the nature of the beings depicted in the work.
For instance, when Amon was portrayed with blue skin, it
alluded to his cosmic aspect. Osiris' green skin was a
reference to his power over vegetation and to his own
resurrection.

The Egyptian artist had at his disposal six colors
(green, red, yellow, blue, black and white).

The color green (wadj) was the color of vegetation and new
life. To do "green things" was slang for beneficial,
life-producing behavior.

Red (desher) was the color of life and of victory. During
celebrations, ancient Egyptians would paint their bodies
with red ochre and would wear amulets made of cornelian, a
deep red stone. Red was also a symbol of anger and fire.

The color yellow (khenet, kenit) Both the sun and gold were
yellow and shared the qualities of being imperishable,
eternal and indestructible. Thus anything portrayed as
yellow in Egyptian art generally carried this connotation.

Blue was symbolic of the sky and of water. In a cosmic
sense, this extended its symbolism to the heavens and of the
primeval floods. In both of these cases, blue took on a
meaning of life and re-birth. Blue was naturally also a
symbol of the Nile and its associated crops, offerings and
fertility.

Black (kem) was a symbol of death and of the night.

The color white (hedj and shesep) suggested omnipotence and
purity. Due to its lack of color white was also the color of
simple and sacred things.

Mood:

Decide on what atmosphere or mood you want to create. This
is where you want to refer back to your list of words you
brainstormed. Add words to the list that will portray your
mood. Create a feel and a mood that is uniform throughout.

Use Gothic lettering on your
programs or invitations.

Use lots of Candles for mood lighting.

Texture:

Incorporating texture will make things look and feel
interesting. Using textures will amplify the atmosphere you
are creating.

For an Egyptian theme you
could use sand, silks, satins, velvet, Old papyrus
background texture, colorful silk scarves decorated with
metal coins or beads for belly dancers.

You may include rich heavy
brocades and velvet or sheer silk fabrics.

Egyptian Art motif ceramic tiles make excellent additions to
the top of a bar.

Scrolls for programs or thank you notes.

Decorating Items:

Rent Palm Trees or use Lighted Palm Trees and place around
your party area, use real sand to create an Oasis or use
Solid Color Gossamer to represent sand. Add the water of the
Nile with blue water gossamer running through the sand.

Grapevines, oil-burning lamps, and Gold Ivy Garland will add
an instant Egyptian feel to the room!

Think mood lighting - candles, candles, and more Candles. As
long as there are no small children around, fill tables with
various sized candles and keep them lit throughout the
evening. Floating candles look absolutely lovely. Place a
glass bowl, or several different sized wineglasses filled
with water on a mirror. Add small candles, and enjoy the
romantic effect they produce.

Tents draped in bright colored fabrics (tulle, organza,
silk, satin). An affordable alterative is to drape
your ceiling with gossamer. Use Solid Color Gossamer to
create a fabulous tented ceiling or to cover a wall. Drape
it across ceilings, columns, doors and walls to achieve a
surprisingly new decorating effect.

Use fabric remnants in gold, white, purple, green to make
throw pillows, trim in gold. Make some large enough for
people to sit on and serve your meal on a low table with
lots of pillows.

If you are having an upscale
event linen tablecloths, china and flatware.

Make a pyramid out of PVC pipe and cut a slit in it so
guests can step into the past (so to speak). Inside place a
mummy, snakes, treasure & etc.

Drape Gold Ivy Garland along the edges of all your tables.
This will add an easy and authentic Egyptian feel to your
party room!

Display pictures in a Photo Pyramid.

Hang Egyptian posters of caravans, ancient gods, and camels
& etc.

Hang die-cut, artificial or real Vines everywhere.

Entertainment:

Dancing

Dance was far more than just an enjoyable pastime in
Ancient Egypt. During the Pre-Dynastic period were found
depictions of female figures, perhaps of Goddesses or
Priestesses, dancing with their arms raised above their
heads. The act of dancing was undoubtedly an important
component of ritual and celebration in Ancient Egypt. People
from every social class were exposed to music and dancing.
Manual laborers worked in rhythmic motion to the sounds of
songs and percussion, and street dancers entertained passers
by. In normal, daily life musicians and dancers were an
important and integral part of banquets and celebrations.
Elizabeth 'Artemis' Mourat, professional dancer and
dance-scholar categorized the dances of Ancient Egypt into
six types: religious dances, non-religious festival dances,
banquet dances, harem dances, combat dances, and street
dances. Men and women are never shown dancing together, and
the most common scenes depict groups of female dancers often
performing in pairs.

Belly Dancers - Hire belly dancers to
provide the entertainment.

Rent a Camel

Hire a Harpist or other
musicians - Musicians connected with the royal household were
held in high esteem, as were certain gifted singers and harp
players. Somewhat lower on the social scale were musicians
who acted as entertainers for parties and festivals,
frequently accompanied by dancers.

All the major categories of musical instruments percussion,
wind and stringed were represented in pharaonic Egypt.
Percussion instruments:
1) Hand-held drums
2) castanets
3) Bells - first used during the Late Kingdom
4) The sistrum - important rattle used in religious worship
5) cymbals - used in temples in the Ptolemaic Period

Stringed instruments:
1) Kinnor a lyre similar to the kithara
2) Harps - developed from hunting bows in the Old Kingdom
3) Lutes - plucked rather than bowed

Instruments were frequently inscribed with the name of the
owner and decorated with representations of the goddess
Hathor of music

Game Ideas:

Board games
were very common in ancient Egypt and people from all levels
of society played them. Many game boards from ancient Egypt
have been found by archaeologists. However, the rules
explaining how to play these games have not survived. Set
out various board games and let guests have some fun.

Mummy Wrap
Wrap your team leader in toilet paper (kind of like a
mummy).

Locate the Missing Treasure
Place a grouping of trinkets on a tray. Let guests study it.
Then take away several items and have them guess what is
missing.

Have a Treasure Hunt

Mesh:
Use color, theme, mood to communicate the message....the
emotions, the spirit of the event. Again apply the theme,
mood, color, texture to mesh your theme throughout your
overall event.

Food:

Ask your caterer for suggestions.

Babylonian royals were partial to truffles wrapped in
papyrus and roasted in ashes. The chefs of Egyptian pharaohs
embellished dishes with them. They won rave reviews from the
likes of Pythagoras and Theophrastus.

A delicious portion of falafels served on top of a pita
bread with hummus, lettuce, tomato, red onions, and a side
of turnips pickled in beet roots.

1. Put the fava beans in a large bowl and add enough cold
water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak
overnight, then drain. Or use canned fava beans, drained.

2. Place the drained, uncooked fava beans and the onions in
the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add
the parsley, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process
until blended but not pureed.

3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the
flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so
that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to
your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for
several hours.

4. Form the fava beans mixture into balls about the size of
walnuts, or use a falafel scoop, available in Middle-Eastern
markets.

5. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a deep pot or wok
and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little
flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on
each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Stuff half a pita with falafel balls, chopped tomatoes,
onion, green pepper, and pickled turnips. Drizzle with
tahina thinned with water.

NOTE: You can substitute chickpeas or garbanzo beans for the
fava beans.

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